AASLD 2010/Echosens Continues to Push the Boundaries of Innovation With CAP(TM): the First, Non-Invasive Solution for the Measurement of Hepatic Steatosis

PARIS, FRANCE--(Marketwire - November 04, 2010) - At the 2010 meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), which took place in Boston from October 29 to November 2, Echosens, a pioneer and major player in the field of non-invasive hepatic diagnostics, presented its latest research and development focus: the CAP™ (Controlled Attenuation Parameter).

Echosens is innovating and diversifying its research

Echosens, the inventor of the first medical device for measuring liver elasticity (the FibroScan® 502), is pushing innovation even further in 2010 with the development of the CAP™.

In recent years, the prevalence of metabolic illnesses (type 2 diabetes and obesity) has been on the rise in France and elsewhere in the world. These illnesses have given rise to numerous complications including NAFLD (Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease).

CAP™ was developed to enable physicians to detect liver steatosis. With this new application, Echosens meets the needs of health professionals who, in most cases, are unable to diagnose patients suffering from metabolic steatosis. The usual technique for diagnosing this liver disease is hepatic biopsy but hepatic biopsy cannot be used to diagnose at-risk patients who are, more often than not, asymptomatic. Other diagnostic techniques do exist but abdominal ultrasound scans are favoured in clinics for the detection of steatosis. This method has significant limitations: the results are operator- and machine-dependent, it is impossible to quantify the steatosis and steatosis detection is only possible if more than 30% of liver cells are affected, while its pathological threshold is around 5-10%. CAP™ is a new tool for diagnosing liver steatosis and can be an alternative to liver biopsy.

Based on VCTE™ and the measurement of ultrasonic attenuation, CAP™ has been proven provide effective diagnosis of steatosis levels above 10%. To date, its clinical performance has been tested on more than 1,200 patients. On par with the ability of FibroScan® to diagnose fibrosis via elasticity measurements, CAP™ is poised to become the standard in detecting and quantifying steatosis.

Echosens is expanding again - this time in Brazil

Echosens just recently obtained ANVISA approval in Brazil for the FibroScan® 502 and its dedicated S, M and XL probes. Already present in more than 50 countries, Echosens is broadening its international distribution network.

Echosens is meeting the needs of developing countries with its diagnostic and monitoring solution for patients with chronic liver disease. The international figures for the prevalence of hepatitis B and C (400 and 180 million chronic cases, respectively) and for Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) illustrate the huge potential of these types of investigative methods.

Brazil is the largest medical-device market in South America.

The FibroScan® 402: an addition to the FibroScan® line

This version of FibroScan® meets the need for a lightweight, compact device with a smaller envelope.

The FibroScan® 402 is designed for use in the offices of hepato-gasteroenterology specialists, community hospitals and clinics as well as institutions that do not yet have access such as prisons and specialized health care centres.

The FibroScan® 402 is a tactile device with software that has been completely re-designed. It is used in conjunction with the M probe and has an integrated printer. Naturally, it uses the specific FibroScan® algorithm that has been widely and clinically validated for measuring liver elasticity.

This unique tool makes FibroScan ® so easily-available it can be used in everyday practice.

FibroScan® technology, along with its related latest developments, have been the subject of more than 50 scientific papers.

About Echosens and FibroScan®

FibroScan® is a non invasive method for quantifying liver elasticity when testing for chronic liver diseases such as viral hepatitis B and C.

Founded in 2001, Echosens focuses a large part of its effort on research and development in order to develop new medical devices and open up new medical perspectives. The company works in close collaboration with health professionals and patient associations to facilitate patient care and therapeutic follow-up.